Using an iPod while driving is distracting: duh

Man, we need to get in on the cash cow feeding all these driver distraction studies. A new study conducted by Drexel University found that using an iPod while driving has "significant effect" on driver performance. The study monitored 12 people who were asked to "drive" in a simulator while selecting and playing music, video and podcasts on their iPods. The result? No surprise: searching for media caused drivers to slow down and veer left or right whereas watching videos (!) "significantly affected" car-following speed. Hey, can we get some funding to prove that knitting a sock affects driving performance as well? Hell, let's just ban it all and get back to the intrinsically safe concept of propelling 2,000 pounds of steel and glass down the road at 80 feet per second.

[Mark @ Mar 27th 2007 9:51AM]

I haven't seen my alma mater in the news recently. What a groundbreaking study, I hope they ask me for more money to continue this important research!

[JinKazama @ Mar 27th 2007 10:07AM]

Apple sued for distracting drivers in 5...4...3...2..

[Ray-- @ Mar 27th 2007 10:12AM]

sorry i was too busy switching songs on my iPod to understand what this article was talking about.... what did it say again?

[OMAC @ Mar 27th 2007 10:32AM]

This just in!... Taking your eyes off the road while driving may cause you to have an accident! Film at eleven!

[Kev50027 @ Mar 27th 2007 10:37AM]

What you may not realize is just listening to music is not safe either. Listening to people talking is even less safe, some studies show that it's almost as unsafe as drunk driving, though that's hard to believe.

[phoomp @ Mar 27th 2007 10:42AM]

Is "selecting and playing music" from an iPod while driving more or less distracting than "selecting and playing music" from CDs while driving?

[Matt @ Mar 27th 2007 10:56AM]

@phoomp, I would say so. With my iPod I have so much music to sort through, I feel I get disracted more with my iPod than if I was to just put a CD in. Although, it's all up for argument since many would say sorting through your CD collection is also distracting. We all know that cell phones, ipods, radios, CD players, passengers, etc are all distracting. We all just have to be careful and smart about it.

[David @ Mar 27th 2007 10:49AM]

BTW, most cars are 2500-4000lbs, not 2000lbs.

[ducatisti @ Mar 27th 2007 11:02AM]

What? Distractions are distracting? How amazing, who woulda thunk it?

The fact that we even need to mention this (let alone STUDY it) just proves some folks have really lost the connection between cause and effect.

By building safer and safer vehicles, I think we're creating more sloppy and careless drivers. Yes, safety is awesome, but not if we take it for granted!

Why don't we work harder to pound reality back into drivers - ANYTHING that takes your eyes off the road or brain off the actions of driving can be detrimental to your health and welfare. If you've been driving like this for years without an accident, that's not skill -- it's luck.

[CaptSaltyJack @ Mar 27th 2007 11:11AM]

Pshaw..whatever. I've surfed the net on my PDA while driving. Granted, it takes me a very long time to read stuff because I'm giving about 90-95% of my attention to the road. It just takes a skilled driver to be able to multi-task, that's all.

For the record, I find talking to other people in the car more distracting than surfing, or "switching songs on an iPod" (god, how weak can you be for switching songs to be distracting?) I also used to have my iPod in the car and would switch songs all the time without a single problem. Nada. Zilch.

I think these safe driving studies target the "average driver" category, which is probably full of morons who still get into car accidents over stupid shit like blinking.

[JM @ Mar 27th 2007 12:08PM]

You know, everybody thinks they're better than the average driver. This is the same sort of reasoning that people use when they've had a few too many too drinks and then get behind the wheel - "yeah, alcohol makes other people drive badly, but not me! I can handle it! I'm a better driver than everybody else! Only people who don't know what they're doing can't drink and drive, or find songs on their Ipod while driving, or use their PDA"...you get my drift.

We need studies like this to prove to people that being on their cell phones or Ipods or PDAs or whatever while driving has real, quantifiable, serious effects on their performance. It would be nice if just common sense were enough to get people to do the right thing...

And by the way, anyone notice that new cars now have designated places to put your Ipod? Their use seems to increasingly be integrated into car design, and hence, driving.

[Ben @ Mar 27th 2007 11:40AM]

Actually, driving with any headphones in your ears is illegal in most states. I guess you are supposed to be able to hear sirens or something...

[Phædrus @ Mar 27th 2007 11:43AM]

This is quite true. But i have to say, for those who want to drive and listen to their ipods, the shuffle works incredibly. it doesnt distract me in the slightest. i dont even look at it... the controls are simple and easy to memorize.

[BoogeyMan @ Mar 27th 2007 12:14PM]

CaptSaltyJack...

As ducatisti put it :
ANYTHING that takes your eyes off the road or brain off the actions of driving can be detrimental to your health and welfare. If you've been driving like this for years without an accident, that's not skill -- it's luck.

You consider yourself to be a skilled driver eh? Then Im sure a "skilled driver" like you would be aware of the fact that average drivers do not get into accidents by "stupid shit like blinking".

Kudos on surfing the net while driving... Next time you might want to play doom 3 and stop only when you get some hapless schmuck stuck between your wheels.

[CaptSaltyJack @ Mar 27th 2007 12:55PM]

Hah. My "stupid shit like blinking" comment was obviously sarcasm.

You just have to know when it's okay to do something like read an email while driving. In a school zone with kids running around? Absolutely no way in hell. In stop-n-go traffic during a commute? Sure, just as long as you watch the cars in front of you, as they can often brake quickly. It is partially luck but it's also partially reflexes, and how . If I were to clone myself and have my clone keep his eyes on the road 100% of the time, yes, he would have a lower chance of an accident than I would. But, compare me checking an email while driving to the "average driver" who apparently sucks, and my chances of an accident are still lower than theirs.

[CaptSaltyJack @ Mar 27th 2007 12:58PM]

Hah. My "stupid shit like blinking" comment was obviously sarcasm.

You just have to know when it's okay to do something like read an email while driving. In a school zone with kids running around? Absolutely no way in hell. In stop-n-go traffic during a commute? Sure, just as long as you watch the cars in front of you, as they can often brake quickly. It is partially luck but it's also partially reflexes, and how quickly your eye can refocus from near to far.

I'd love to participate in one of these driver safety studies. Sign me up.

[Daniel @ Mar 27th 2007 1:04PM]

Well i dont comment but i thought i would now.

Anything other then driving the car is a distraction. If your not looking at the road holding steering wheel etc its distraction. bAH

[Ignacio @ Mar 27th 2007 5:58PM]

Awesome picture!
:D

[GameboyRMH @ Mar 27th 2007 7:54PM]

How to make a worthless story popular:

Step 1: Create an article that points out the obvious

Step 2: Find some way to make it about iPods

Step 3: Profit!

Fiddling with a sound system (iPod) causes driver distraction! Crossing the street while unable to hear (due to iPod) is dangerous! Turning up earphone volume too loud (with an iPod) causes hearing loss!

Is anyone else getting tired of it?

[Chuck Konfrst @ Mar 27th 2007 8:32PM]

What the hell is wrong with the world. Think how much money we could save and use for higher purposes if we just used common sense? Common sense tells you that doing ANYTHING other than driving while driving is a distraction. Duh. Jebus - what a waste of time and money.

[bobba @ Mar 27th 2007 11:39PM]

IPOD spelt backwards gives:

DOPI

enough said!

[Jackie Romulo @ Mar 28th 2007 1:20AM]

I swear I only choose songs/playlists at stop lights!!! *Yikes!

[Kyle @ Mar 28th 2007 11:15AM]

This is quite true. But i have to say, for those who want to drive and listen to their ipods, the shuffle works incredibly. it doesnt distract me in the slightest. i dont even look at it... the controls are simple and easy to memorize.

[telepheedian @ Mar 30th 2007 6:39PM]

iPod Shuffle.

[dscott @ Jun 21st 2007 1:42PM]

Anything you do while driving that is not… DRIVING is a distraction - like also reading paper maps, Mapquests, and now GPS systems etc., in addition to the iPods and all. Yes, these distractions are being built into our cars and our lives – we protest here but have not weighed in as consumers so much that I can see.

Common sense SHOULD reign supreme, but we are having a hard time with the basics such as reading, thinking and speaking the same language - so it’s going to be interesting to get folks to deploy common sense on the regular. Government solutions = death in these cases (OMG –I’m getting so jaded = yikes and sorry).

Agreed: It seems a waste/shame to spend large amounts of $$$ studying stuff that should be easy to understand. Moreover, we tend to use data to our best/worst advantage as arguments go on for years over both simple and critical issues to no avail. So I can see why someone thought a study would make sense.
Unbelievable that with all the technology and innovators at our disposal we are now less self-reliant and more like children. Soon we will need instructions and studies for those "Blinks" mentioned above... Sadly we may have to forget about common sense being our common factor...
*** BIG BRO SAYS: "IF I TOLD YOU ONCE, I TOLD YOU a 1000 times to keep your eyes on the road!"